Smoking Advice...Meat not falling off the bone


 
B

Bryan Brooks

New member
Afternoon, I have been smoking for about a year now on the wsm. I have tried the brisket twice and a Boston butt once about 3 times. I cooked them low and slow 200 - 250 until internal temp was around 170, 175. The meat never falls apart for me. I end up having to shread the meat. Maybe someone can point me in the right direction. Is the meat not done enough? or is it too done? Do I need to inject it? What am I missing.. Thanks for your time!

Regards,
Bryan
 
If you are only cooking to those internal temperatures, you are not cooking long enough. Do a little studying in the Cooking Topics section of this web site. There is a wealth of information there.

JimT
 
Hi Bryan!

A couple of pointers...

Essentially, you want to cook until the meat is tender.. you can use internal temperatures as a guideline, but should learn to determine doneness by feel.

As a general guideline, for brisket, you want to take it to about 190F internal. For pulled pork, you want to take it to at LEAST 195F (anywhere up to 205-210F should result in moist, pullable pork).

With the pulled pork, cook it until the bone easily falls out (or when you stick a fork in and twist, the meat comes away very easily).

For the brisket, insert a probe or fork into the thickest part of the flat and it should go in and out with very little resistance.

Hope that helps!

Hope that helps!
 
Thanks guys! I really appreciate it. I plan to do another butt this weekend. I will take everyone's advice and try it once again. Thanks again guys!
 
I pretty much ruined meat my first year. How did I get better? I stopped chasing some ideal. I let the wsm run at the temp it wanted (usually closer to 300*) and I pulled the meat when it was done.

not to get all technical, put what you are trying to do is turn tough connective tissue into gelatin. It takes temp AND time. I dont recall off hand, the temp at which this conversion takes place, but lets say its 160*. If you only took the meat to 175*, and it was an hour since 160*, the bulk of the roast didn't have much time to break down.

I use the blade in the butt like a turkey timer, when that sucker pops out, she's done.

btw, don't be afraid to foil, it'll speed up the cooking and even heat out inside the roast.

I'm getting long winded here, but don't be afraid to take a step back, it worked for me. Run the wsm hotter, use foil, whatever it takes to get the meat done. Once you know what it takes to get the meat the way you like, you can go bach to "low and slow," if you want.
 
I'll just add that when your fairly new to bbq, cooking pork butt is insane time wise. It will truly take 2 hours per pound average or maybe more. When I do pork butt it almost feels like Im smoking for a day and most of the next if its a larger one. Just when you think "gosh it should be done by now" it will be another 5 hours. Internal temp shoudl be closer to 195-200 but more imprortantly, as already stated, when that bone pulls out easy its ready for eating. I just cooked two up the other day, and had leftovers tonight. Im going to guess (and might be wrong here) that you were pulling them off at the internals of 170's degrees because they stayed there forever... well the pork butt's stall for hours on hours (which I hate)right around the 165-175's if you can hold out past that you'll be well rewarded. Just remember, they WILL get through the stall, sometimes 3 hours later, sometimes 5.. just hang in there, hope this helps.
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Great advice guys, I guess I wasn't keeping it on the smoker long enough. I was worried that I was over cooking it. This helps a great deal. Thanks guys!
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I use the meat thermometer to tell me when to start checking for being done. When it gets to 185, I start my fork test, stick a two pronged BBQ fork into it and turn, if there is no resistance, it’s done. I do that in several thick places. If it doesn’t turn easily, I give it another hour and try again, and then every hour until its done. Then I double wrap it in foil, wrap that in a towel and place it in a preheated cooler for 30 minutes to several hours.
 
The advice given is all good stuff. I haven't temped a piece of meat since my very first cook. Now, I just go by feel. I've also listened to these guys and not been afraid of higher temps. I do butts now at around 285 instead of the standard 225. If nothing else, you don't have to worry about the temp as much if you go for a general range instead of trying to hit that perfect temp. If I'm anywhere from 230-285 I'm happy with butts. Briskets I do all high heat. Doneness, simply with a fork for pork (HA, that rhymes) and the probe test with brisket. If you can twist a fork without much effort, you pork is done. also, the bone will be sticking about 1/3 of the way out of the butt when its done. It should slide right out with nothing stuck to it. Great feeling when you are going to pull the meat in front of people and that bone just eases right out!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bryan Brooks:
Okay guys! I just put the butts on! I got 2 x 9lb's. So it should take about 18 hours.
Bryan </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
IMO I would not make that assumption. Conditions/temps may be different, but a 9 lb butt the other day took 13 hours.Lid temp 240-260. Stay flexible.
 
ok. I pulled mine at 190* because after I felt it and saw that the bone was on its way out I knew it was about time. I rested two hours wrapped in a cooler.
 
Ya, you, of course, can always leave it on if you think it needs more time. Hope it turns out good for you
 
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